Let’s keep our beaches free for everyone

Letting two North County entrepreneurs start a beach umbrella- and chair-rental service on a public beach in Carlsbad is a bad idea.

One of the great things about Southern California is that our beaches are free for everyone to use and enjoy. There are no permits like there are in New Jersey, nor are there endless rows of umbrellas and chairs reserved for well-heeled visitors who can afford to pay $20 or $30. Even at beaches that front private property, access is open to everyone, at least to the mean high tide line.

Leone D’arcangelo, the owner of Fresco Trattoria, an Italian restaurant in Carlsbad, told this paper that he envisions “a hundred or more identical large, colorful umbrellas in formation on the beach, a sight common at European resorts.”

Unfortunately, such a pay-to-play scheme – which he and a partner want to bring to the public beach north of the Carlsbad sea wall – would limit access to people with fat wallets. Those who can’t afford it – or who simply want to bring their own beach towels, umbrellas or chairs – would be shut out from that portion of the beach.

The California Coastal Commission staff took a look at the plan and gave it a thumb’s down on the grounds that it would limit public access to a public beach. We don’t always agree with the Coastal Commission, but in this case the staff assessment is 100 percent correct.